The M1 Carbine was a lightweight, intermediate cartridge firearm, developed and adopted in 1941, as a supplement to the then standard issue M1 Garand. The M1 Carbine was to take the place of pistols for vehicle drivers, members of crew served weapons (such as artillery, anti-aircraft etc), NCOs and other secondary roles to the frontline infantryman. Despite its lack of 'knockdown' power, it was popular, primarily due to its handiness and lightweight and was seen in front line usage in both the European and Pacific Theaters of World War II.

Contrary to what movie and TV viewers see, the M1 Carbine did not have a bayonet lug during World War II. There is no photographic evidence of any soldiers carrying or using the M1 Carbine or M1A1 paratrooper Carbine between 1942 and early 1945, with a bayonet lug. The version with the bayonet lug, and the replacement of the "L" peep sight with the adjustable windage rear sight was an undesignated upgrade to the model and was not given a separate model number. This upgrade officially started in late 1944, but were only seen in the field in late 1945, in the very last months of the war. Occupation troops did, however, get this version of the gun. The upgraded version was used extensively during the Korean conflict and into the early years of Vietnam. The M1 carbine could still be found in US National Guard, Army or Air Force reserve unit armories on into the early 1970s, in addition it was a common police weapon from the mid 1950s into the late 1970s. Surplus M1 Carbines were widely exported to US allies, and it remains a popular weapon among Israeli police to this day.

Some M1 Carbine Based rifle were also manufactured :

The Howa M300 was a Japanese Hunting Rifle Based on the M1 Carbine. Developed in 1960 and produced by the Howa Machinery Co. A distinctive feature of this model is a front located iron sight, unlike the original M1.

The M1 Carbine and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

M1/M1A1 Carbine

World War II Era M1 Carbine, with Dark Walnut Stock, 'L' peep sight and no bayonet lug - .30 Carbine - correct for most of WWII, shown with khaki sling and oiler and a period twin magazine pouch for buttstock

Korean War Era M1 Carbine, with Birch Stock, Adjustable sight, bayonet lug, and twin magazine pouch - .30 Carbine. Most of the World War II variations of the M1 Carbine were sent back to the Military Arsenals and retrofitted with the Bayonet Lug and adjustable rear sight. This is the version seen after late 1945 and all the way until the 1960s. This version is seen most often in World War II movies, despite being anachronistic for most World War II battles

Anime

Animation

M2 Carbine

M2 Carbine - .30 Carbine

An M2 Carbine select Fire carbine - .30 carbine

The M2 Carbine was a select fire upgrade of the M1 Carbine that was developed in late 1944/early 1945. No examples of the M2 Carbine were issued before the surrender of Nazi Germany, however, there were some field conversion kits for altering M1 Carbines sent to units for field testing before the end of the war. Though not impossible, it would be very rare to see an M2 in any sort of action prior to Germany's surrender (however they do show up in late war Combat photographs in the South Pacific). The M2s were common among the occupation forces and U.S. Forces in Korea (1950-1953). M2 Carbine along with the M1 Carbine were used by the Army of The Republic of Vietnam as well as the Vietnamese police. US Army soldiers and Marines also used solely the M2 Carbine in extremely small numbers. A small number of M1 and M2 Carbines were captured by the National Liberation Front, also known as the Vietcong who used them against anti-communist forces.

Note: Just because an M1 Carbine is seen with a 30 round magazine, it doesn't automatically make it an M2 carbine. In Movie Armories and in real life, there were many more M1 Carbines built than M2s and many forces still used the M1 Carbine all around the world, as well as law enforcement into the 1970s. There must be a visible selector switch or the weapon must be seen firing fully automatic to declare it to be an M2 Carbine.

Video Game

M3 Carbine

M3 Carbine with M1 / M2 scope - .30 Carbine

The M3 Carbine in its final configuration with the M3 scope, including backpack for the infrared sight's large 12-volt battery. - .30 Carbine

The M3 Carbine (called T3 Carbine during WW2, where it was used during the invasion of Okinawa) was an M2 Carbine fitted with an early active infrared scope, requiring a large IR lamp to provide illumination for the scope. Two main configurations were produced, the M1 / M2 scope with the lamp mounted underneath the weapon (which was found to render it prone to accidental damage) and the M3 with it mounted on top of the scope tube; the latter featured a better detector, increasing the effective range from 76 yards to 125. A forward pistol grip was also added to aid in handling the M3's increased bulk, and Korean War versions have a conical T23 flash hider added to prevent muzzle flash from creating a disruptive flare in the scope. An external power source for the infrared sight had to be carried in a backpack, using a 6-volt battery with a vibrator / transformer to step this up to the 4,250 the M1 and M2 scopes required; the M3 scope used a 12-volt battery stepped up to 20,000.

Erma Werke Model E M1

Erma Werke Model E M1 .22 caliber semi-auto carbine is based on M1 Carbine. It was designed in early 1960s as a training rifle for the Bundeswehr that used cheaper ammo than service M1 Carbines. The first user of the E M1 was the Austrian Gendarmerie. Numerous E M1 carbines were sold commercially under different names and with slight variations, but all manufactured in Germany by Erma Werke. The manufacturing started in 1966 and continued until Erma Werke declared bankruptcy in 1997. It was available in several versions including the ESG 22 chambered in .22 WMR, and the sporterised EGMI Model 70 which featured traditional sling swivels rather than the original M1 style sling hole in the stock and had an exposed blade front sight. The E M1 saw a brief resurgence in 1999 when it was manufactured by Suhler Jagd und Sportwaffen GmbH as the Erma Suhl Ranger (differentiated by its plainer finish and suppressor threaded barrel), however production was limited and ceased after only a few years.